vassal
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- vasal (rare)
Etymology edit
From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
vassal (plural vassals)
- (historical, law) The grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service.
- (historical) Any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior.
- (figurative) Any subordinate bound by similar close ties.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- The vassals of his anger.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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Adjective edit
vassal (not comparable)
- Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- Did they, quoth you? / Who sees the heavenly Rosaline / That, like a rude and savage man of Inde / At the first opening of the gorgeous east / Bows not his vassal head and strucken blind / Kisses the base ground with obedient breast?
Translations edit
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb edit
vassal (third-person singular simple present vassals, present participle vassaling or vassalling, simple past and past participle vassaled or vassalled)
- (transitive) To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
- (transitive) To subordinate to someone or something.
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Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
vassal (feminine vassale, masculine plural vassaux, feminine plural vassales)
Noun edit
vassal m (plural vassaux, feminine vassale)
- a vassal
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “vassal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Hungarian edit
Etymology edit
vas (“iron”) + -val (“with”, instrumental case suffix)
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
vassal
Derived terms edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old French vassal.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
vassal (plural vassalles)
- A feudal retainer, who is obliged to render military service.
- A servant to one’s beloved, professed lover.
- As surname.
Descendants edit
References edit
- “vassal, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old French edit
Noun edit
vassal oblique singular, m (oblique plural vassaus or vassax or vassals, nominative singular vassaus or vassax or vassals, nominative plural vassal)